Slide fastener



Dec. 23, 1941. -s. WALDES SLIDE FASTENER Filed Jan. 25, 1941 INVENTOR-5/6M(//Vfl I I/mp5s ATTORNEYS WITNESS 9 1 Patented Dec. 23, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SLIDE FASTENER Sigmund Waldes, New York, N.Y., assignor to Waldes Koh-I-Noor, Inc., New York, N. Y.

Application January 25, 1941, Serial No. 375,909

12 Claims.

This invention relates to separable fasteners of the slide operated typeand has for its principal object the provision of an improved means forlocking the slider in position when the separable fastener is fullyclosed.

Separable fasteners of the type indicated usu-.

ally comprise a pair of stringers having rows of interlocking elementsattached along the opposed edges thereof and a slider embracing bothrows of elements and movable along such rows for interlocking ordisengaging the elements, the interlocking of the elements beingaccomplished usually by having pin members on the elements of one of therows brought into engagement by the slider with cooperating recessesprovided in the elements of the other row. Movement of the slider on thefastener is usually accomplished by based on the idea that some means,such as a pin member, either on one of the top stops or the slider,should engage with a recess on the other member so that the top stop andslider became interlocked in a manner quite similar to that by which theinterlocking elements interlocked with one another. -One type ofstructure which is based on this idea and which has been used to someextent, comprises a U-shaped top stop having provided on each legthereof, a pair of jaws by which the top stop may be clamped to the edgeof the stringer and a locking pin integral with the pull tab and adaptedto pass through an aperture in the slider plate on which the pull tab ismounted and to enter into the recess between'the legs of the U-shapedmember or top stop when the pull tab is pivoted down'against theexterior surface of the pull tab bearing plate of the slider. TheU-shaped member or top stop is usually madeof metal which is just asthin as the metal of which the interlocking elements are constituted sothat its grip on the tape or stringer is relatively weak against forcestending to rip it from the tape, as for example, when the pin isinserted therein and a transverse pull is exerted at the top of thefastener either by the wearer inadvertently trying to force the fasteneropen when it is locked. in position or by strains created by the body ofthe wearer in the use of the garment to which the fastener is attachedFurthermore, the locking pin on the pull tab in a structure of thistypeis subject to bending or breaking, particularly so when the pull tabis pressed down into closed position with the pin out of directalignment with the recess of the U-shaped element.

In accordance with the present invention, the top stop is made of asolid piece of metal or other suitable material which is folded orformed about the-edge of the stringer and grips the latter throughoutits entire length which is greater than the widths of two interlockingelements plus the width of the space therebetween. The exterior portionof the top stop facing the top or outer plate of the slider is providedwith a cam surface of a configuration such that when engaged by a camprovided on the slider, the stop is not only effectively locked injamming relation against the interior surface of the bottom plate of theslider but it also effectively holds the pull tab in its inoperativeposition against the top plate of the slider until positively removedthere-- from. The cam of the slider is formed integrally on the pull tabof the slider so that it can be extended readily through a recess in'the top plate of the slider into engagement with the cam surface of thetop stop and has a configuration suitable for accomplishing theabove-mentioned resuits when in locking engagement with the top stop.

The advantages of the construction of this invention, as well as thenovel details of construction thereof, will more fully appear during thecourse of the following specification, read in connection with theaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portionof the slider, partly in section, and showing, in section, the portionof the stringer tape which carries the top stop, the latter beingpositioned withinthe slider and the pull tab of the slider beingpositioned to lock the top stop within the slider; Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the'upper portion of the separable fastener with the top plate oftheslider removed to illustrate more clearly the mannerin which theslider is locked in. position on the top stop; R 3 is a side elevationof the top stop before being bent into position on the stringers of thefastener; Fig. 4 is a vertical secti ial view taken transversely to Fig.3 through the channel portion thereof; Fig. 5 is a sectional viewsimilar to that of 'Fig. i but showing the top stop attached to thestringer tape; Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modifiedform of the invention; Fig.7 is a sectional view of the constructionillustrated in Fig. 6; Fig.8

.is a sectional view of the top stop illustrated in Figs. 6 and '7; Fig.9 is a top plan view of another a ed in Figs. 9 and 10 clamped inposition on a stringer tape.

In Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, of the drawing, the numerals l and IIindicate the two flexible stringers of the fasteners to the opposededges of which, are attached the rows of cooperating fastener elementsl2 and I3. The stringers are usually made of fabric tape and these tapesare beaded or reinforced along the,opposed edges to which theinterlocking elements are to be attached, such reinforcing being a wellknown expedient and may consist of weaving into the fabric astrengthening cord H, such as is illustrated in Fig. of the drawing.Embracing the two rows of elements 12 and I3 is the slider l5 whichcontrols the locking and unlocking of the rows of elements. Actuation ofthe slider along the rows of elements is accomplished by manualoperation of the pull tab l6 which has its lower end pivoted at I! tothe lug it provided on the upper or outer plate [9 of the slider. InFigs.

1 and 7 of the drawing, the pull tab is shown in the position it shouldbe while the slider I5 is at rest, but when the .slider is to beactuated such tab is raised about its pivot in order to facilitategripping of the tab by the user. During the sliding movement of theslider l5, the rows of elements enter into the channel formed betweenthe upper or outer plate l9 and the bottom plate of the slider. As ismore clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the channel is Y-shaped inform andgincludes two angularly disposed arm portions 2| and 22 at theupper portion of the slider and a central leg portion 23 into which thearm portions 2! and 23 converge.

Positioned in opposed relation to the travel of the elements l2 and I3upwardly through the leg portion 23 of the channel and intermediate theconverging channels 2| and 22 is a spacing member 24. It will be seentherefore that when the slider I5 is moved towards the unlocked portionof the fastener or 'to the top, the elements entering the arm portions2| and 22 of the channel are fed into proper relation to be interlockedwhen they reach the leg portion 23 of the channel, while when the slideris moved in the opposite direction to unlock the slider, the elementspassing from the leg portion 23 of the channel are disengaged by themember 24 as they enter into the channel portions 2| and 22.

At the upper ends of the stringers l0 and H, and closely adjacent to theendmost fastener elements in the rows, are attached the top stop memberswhich are indicated generally by the reference numerals 25, 25. .Eachstop member 25 is composed of a solid piece of suitable metal material,whichprior to being bent and attached to a stringer is in the formillustrated in Figs. 3' and 4 of the drawing. In the unbent condition 3of the drawing. The transverse bead portions 21 and 28, as well as thetransverse channel portion 29, are of maximum thickness at a pointintermediate their ends (see Fig. 4) and from such point are graduallyreduced in thickness towards their ends to points spaced approximatelyone-quarter the lengths of suchportions from the ends thereof, thethickness of each of the portions from such points to their ends beingsubstantially equal. In other words, each of the portions 21, 28 and 29,has two ends of equal thickness and a central part which graduallyincreases in thickness from such ends to the longitudinal centerthereof, the upper surface of the central part of the channel portion29, however, forming anarc of greater radius than corresponding surfacesof the bead portions 21 and 28 and the ends of such channel portionbeing shorter than the ends of the bead portions. When the member 25,therefore, is bent about the edge of the stringer along a linepositioned on its bottom surface 26 andextending transversely theretointermediate its ends, as viewed in Fig.4 of the drawing, the integrallegs of the portions 21, 28. and 29 thereof form two continuous clampingjaws which grip the beaded edge of the stringer in the mannerillustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawing, such grip on the stringer beingcontinuous and uninterrupted for the entire width of the member. ber 25is securely and permanently fixed on the stringer and can withstandrelatively large stresses tending to separate it from the stringer.

of each member 25, it has a flat bottom surface I 2'5, as viewed inFigs. 3. and 4, and an upper surface which is waverlike in form toprovide two transverse bead or ridge portions 21 and 28 which areseparated by a transverse channel portion 29. The outer side edges ofthe bead portions 21. and

28 are preferably rounded, as is illustrated in Fig.

Furthermore, this construction presents a strong, rugged member whichwill resist successfully forces tending to distort it in the use of thefastener. When secured to the stringer, the bead portions 21 and 28 vandthe channel portion 29 of the member 25 present one wave-like surfacewhich will be disposed in opposed relation to the interior surface ofthe bottom plate 20 of the slider l5 and a second wave-like surfacewhich will be disposed in opposed relation to the interior surfaceof'the top plate 19 of the slider, the bead portions of the bottomsurface of the member 25 being adapted to engage with the bottom plate20 of the slider when the top surface there of is engaged by the cammember 30 of the slider, as is illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

The cam member 30 is integrally formed on the lower or pivoted end ofthe pull tab H5 in such manner that'it is adapted to enter and to extendthrough an opening 3| provided in the top plate IQ of the slider whenthe pull tab I6 is in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing.The cam member 30 is positioned at substantially right angles to thebody of the pull tab l6 and has its attached end orroot portion disposedin substantial alignment with the pivotal axis of the pull tab butextends outwardly from such pivotal axis at an angle greater than theangle between the body of the pull tab and a plane passed through suchpivotal axis at right angles to the length of the tab, so that the outerend of the cam member 30 projects beyond the loweror pivoted end of thetab. The opening -3| through which the cam member is adapted By thisconstruction, the mem-' channel portion 29 of the member 25 so that whenthe pull tab it is pressed down to engage the cam member til with thetop stop member 25 underlying the opening 3|, such outer end willstraddle the channel portion 29 of the member 25 and will engage withthe inner and top surfaces of the beads 2'! and 28 of the member 25, asis illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing, to bring the bead portions ofthe bottom surface of the member 25 into jamming relationship with theinterior surface of the bottom plate 20 of the slider l5.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that after the slider l has beenoperated to the end of its path of movement inv the locking direction sothat the end or top stops 25 are positioned within the slider, as isillustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing, one of the top stops 25 will bepositioned beneath the opening M in the top plate it of the slider. Whenthe pull tab Iii-is then forced down by the operator to a substantiallyhorizontal position, as is shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the cammember 30 thereon will enter the recess and come into engagement withthe bead portions 2'l and 28 of such top stop,-

thereby forcing such stop by a camming action against. the interiorsurface of the bottom plate Ell of the slider and bringing the beadportions on the bottom surface of the member 25 into suchjammingrelationship with respect to the bottom plate as to effectively lock theslider on the fastener structure in its closed position. With the sliderand top stop member 25 thus secured, there is no tendency whatever foreither of such members becoming displaced. Due to of the member 30'within the slider as will hereinafter become more apparent. In this,embodiment of the invention there is in addition provided beneath theopening in the top plate, an

angularly disposed elongated recess or cavity 31 formed in the bottomplate of the slider between the adjacent side flange 38 of the bottomplate and the separating member 24' and of a size to the fact that thecamming action takes place by a carnming member which bridges the twobead portions or the stop member 25, there is not the necessity that themember be initially brought into accurate position beneath'the opening3l,'.as the cam member in its camming action on the member 25, willshift the latter to the proper position as the pull tab I6 is depressed.The large camming surfaces of both the cam member 30 and the top stopmember and the ruggedness of their construction provide a constructionwhich can be depended upon for wear throughout the life of the fastener.

ber 30 is offset slightly from the pivotal axis of the pull tab It, thelocking interengagement of the member Wand/ top stop member 25 willmoved from such position.- The'rorce exerted by the cam member 30 on thetop stop member 25 will also secure, the latter against displacement byforces tending to separate it from the stringer. From the viewpoint ofappearance also, the member 25 possesses advantages over prior endstops, because its wave-like form gives the impression that the memberis smaller than it really is and is more in conformance to the design ofthe remainder of the fastener structure.

In the embodiment'illustrated in Figs. 6 to 8 of the drawing, the topstop members 25', 25', diifer from the above-described-members ,25, inthat the beads 21' and 28' are separated by two channel portions 35, 55,the two beads 21' and 28' merging along the line of the bend to providea relatively thick portion 36 (see Fig. 8) along the entire width ofthat portion of the member which projects beyond the end of thestringer. The cammember 30 differs also from the member 30 in that it issomewhat longer to take care of increased transverse movement Due alsoto the fact that the cam memaccommodate-one of the stop members 25', asis best shown in Fig. 6 of the drawing. Thus when the cam member 30' isforced down upon the stop member 25' which overlies the cavity 31, suchstop member is pressed down into the cavity 31 and against the bottomsurface thereof, as is illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawing. The endwalls of the cavity and particularly the vertical wall at the outer endof the cavity, therefore, cooperate with the jamming action of the cammember 311' to prevent any possibility of the top stop member25 becomingdisplaced from its locked position relative to the slider. Thisembodiment of the invention is of particular advantage in those slidefasteners which are to be subjected to more severe strains during usagethan the form previously described.

The top stop illustrated in Figs. 9 to 11 ofthe drawing, is similar tothat illustrated in Figs. 6 to 8 of the drawing in the respect that thebeads 40 and 4| are separated by two channel portions 42, 42 formed byproviding a thickened portion -or transverse bead 43 intermediate theends of the beads 40 and 4|, so that such beads form an H-shapedembossed outer surface in the unbent condition of the stop member, asis' readily evident from Fig. 9 of the drawing. The under surface ofthis top stop differs from those previously described, in that it isprovided with a central transverse rib 44 which is positioned directlybeneath the transverse bead 43 and extends to the outer sides of thebeads 41) and 4|, as is indicated in Fig. 9 of the drawing. The sides 45of the rib 44 are inclined toward the under surface of the stop memberso that the rib 44 is substantially wedge-shaped and thicker at its rootportion than at the free end thereof. Also projecting from the undersurface of the stop memberand arranged in substantial parallelism withthe rib 44 are a. pair of end shoulders 46 and 41 which, like the rib44, extend to the outer sides of the beads 40 and 4|. In securing thistype of stop {member to a stringer tape, it is bent about the rib 44 sothat the outer end faces of the shoulders 46 and 41 are in opposedrelation, as is illustrated in Fig. 11 of the drawing. The length of'theshoulders 46 and 41 are preferably such that when the stop member issecured to the stringer tape with such shoulders gripping the tapeinside the bead orstrengthened edge "thereof the bent portions of thebeads 40 and 4| are disposed in substantially parallel reimpossible topull the stop from the fastener structure so long as the beaded edge of.the tape does not fall. In this connection, it will be stringer can bemade of larger cross-sectional dimensions, thereby enabling theprovision of a fastener structure having great strength and sturdiness.The stop member illustrated in Figs; 9 to 11 can, of course, be utilizedwith a slider such as is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing orwith a slider constructed in the manner illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 ofthe drawing, as will be evident. g

While I have hereinabove described and illustratedin the accompanyingdrawing preferred forms which my invention may assume in practice, itwill be understood that other forms may be devised within the scope ofthe invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A slide fastener comprising a pair of stringers provided withinterlocking fastener means along their opposed edges, a slider forcontrolling said fastener means, a stop member on one of said stringersfor limiting the movement of said slider, said stop member having twospaced cam surface portions, and a member carried by said slider havinga cam surface of such size as tobridge'the space between said camsurface portions and adapted when engaged with such surface portions tolock said stop member in iamming relation against a portion of saidslider.

2. A slide" fastener comprising a pair of stringers provided withinterlocking fastener means along their opposed edges, a slider forcontrolling observed also that the reinforced edge 48 of the embracingthe edge portions of the stringer and being clamped thereto.

6. A slide fastener such as claimed in claim 2,

in which said slider includes a top plate and a said fastener means, astop member on one of vided with a cam surface of uneven configuration,and a member carried by said slider having a cam surface of such size asto engage two bottom plate, said top plate having an opening extendingtherethrough laterally from the central longitudinal line of the slider,a member pivotally connected to said top plate, the said cam member ofsaid slider being integrally formed on said pivoted member as to bemovable through said opening into engagement with the stop member, andthe bottom plate of said slider having an angularly disposed cavitypositioned beneath the opening of said top plate and of a size toreceive said stop member when the latter is laterally displaced by theengagement'of the cam member on said pivoted member with the cam surfaceon said stop member.

7. A slide fastener comprising a pair of stringers provided withinterlocking fastener means along their opposed edges, a slider forcontrolling said fastener means, a stop member on one of said stringersfor limiting the movement of said slider, and means carried by theslider adapted ,edge of the stringer, the exterior surface of thatplate-like portion engageable by the locking means of the slider, havingtwo raised portions extending transversely to the longitudinal length ofthe slider and being separated by a recess.

raised portions of the cam surface on said stop member and. adapted whenengaged therewith to lock said stop member in jamming relation against afixed portion of said slider.

3. A slide fastener such as is claimed in claim 2, in which the camsurface of said stop member and the surface portion thereof whichengages the fixed portion of the slider are each configured tioninterengaging with interior surface portions of the slider under thelocking action of said cam surfaces.

8. A slide fastener such as is defined in claim 7, in which said stopmember includes a rib integral with said thickened portion and disposedintermediate said plate-like portions.

9. A slide fastener such as is defined in claim 7, in which said stopmember includes a rib integral with said thickened portion and .disposedintermediate said plate-like portions, and shoulders integral with theouter ends of said plate-like portions, said shoulders beingsubstantially parallel to said rib and being disposed in opposedrelation.

10. A slide fastener comprising a pair of stringers provided withinterlocking fastener means along their opposed edges, a. slider forcontrolling said fastener means, a stop member on one of said stringersfor limiting the move- -4. A slide fastener such as claimed in claim 2,

5. A slide fastener such as claimed in claim 2,

in which said stop member is provided with two legs of substantiallyuniform thickness in a lengthwise direction and a central portionthicker than said leg portions, said central portion being of maximumthickness in the region thereof which is substantially in alignment withthe material of the stringer and tapering inthickness towards the legsthereof, the legs of said member ment of said slider, and means carriedby the slider adapted to lock said stop member Within the slider, saidstop member including two integralplate-like portions disposed on eitherside of the edge of a stringer, a centralrib intermediate saidplate-like portions and positioned beyond the edge of the stringer, theportion of the edge of the stringer enclosed by said stop member beingfixed between the plate-like portions thereof and the central rib andthe exterior surface of that plate-like portion engageable by thelocking means of the slider, havin spaced raised portions engageable bysaid locking means.

11. A slide fastener such as claimed in claim 10, in which said centralrib is thicker at its root portion and has side surfaces incliningtowards the face end thereof, and said plate-like portions haveshoulders integrally formed with their outer ends, said shoulders beingdisposed in opposed relation and of a length as to maintain' saidplate-like portions in substantially parallel relation.

12 A. slide fastener. comprising a pair of stringers provided withinterlocking fastener means along their opposed edges, a slider forcontrolling said fastener means, a stop member on one of said stringersfor limiting the movement of said slider, and means carried by theslider adapted to lock said stop member within the slider, said stopmember comprising two integral plate-dike portions enclosing an edge ofa stringer, a central rib intermediate said platelike portions andpositioned beyond the edge of the stringer, rib-like extensions providedon the outer edges of said plate-like portions and ex- 10 longitudinallength of the slider.

SIGMUND WALDES.

